August

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee.

Psalms 84: 11-12

Dear Friends in Christ,

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.” (-Psalm 84:10) How true! His arms of love give us peace and comfort as we walk through difficult times. To have Him is to have everything we could possibly need in our lives. Praise Jesus!

Another wonderful month has passed. Our school children are dear to our hearts as they have become to many of you as well. We are grateful for your love, care, and prayers for them and their well-being. This is a blessing to us and the students to have so much provided for them through Bible teaching, school, and meals each day. Each month we are blessed by God’s protection over the school and our staff near Port-au-Prince in spite of so many problems happening throughout the country.

The children are having fun together, playing games, and having Bible studies through the summer. This is a relaxing time for them and the teachers. The weather is really hot, so they usually leave just after lunch. With the heat and no electricity, they do things outside during the day. Their schedules revolve around daylight, so they rise with the sun and often go to bed when it gets dark outside.

Many children help their parents with jobs. The older ones will sell items at the market or help with gardens so they will have vegetables to eat. One important job most of the children are involved in helping with is bringing water from the river for their needs. There are no wells in the village, and the river is a 45-minute hike straight up and down the mountain. Smaller children will often carry a 1-gallon jug of water, and the older children carry more. Many of the women and older children will carry a 5-gallon bucket on their heads with water. A 5-gallon bucket is a prized commodity and a great, helpful gift for a Haitian family.

The school is preparing for our next school year already, which begins in early September. We have again hired a tailor to sew uniforms for the students who will be attending this school year. The tailor and his assistant have been measuring for tailor-fit uniforms for each child. The children and even the parents are always very excited for new uniforms each year. There was a long line waiting to be measured. This is one more step to getting set up for the new school year. We ordered the patches for the uniforms a couple of months back. They are made in Iowa and shipped to MFI, then sent down to Haiti so Nady can deliver them to the tailor to put on each student’s uniform. Nady also went to PAP to pick up material and supplies a few weeks ago to have the uniforms made. We always hope to have the students looking as nice as possible, so they are happy to be wearing their uniforms each school day.

In our June newsletter, we asked for support for Woodson as he was returning to Haiti. He is doing very well so far; praise the Lord. Edgard has been teaching him over the summer so he can begin 1st grade this year. Since he was out of school for so much time during his procedure, he had to be tested to see if he would begin by repeating kindergarten or be able to go on to 1st grade. Praise the Lord, with Edgard’s summer efforts, he passed and will be going into 1st grade at the beginning of September. He has been enrolled in the same Christian school that Edgard’s children attend. With these projects behind us, we now have a clearer idea of what his expenses will be. Woodson’s support will be $150 monthly, which will cover his living expenses in Petionville. His school support is separate and is $865 a year; this includes all of his classes, books, and uniform. Please pray about how you might help with support for Woodson’s care or school expenses. Either would be a great blessing.

The Dorcas House in Nava, Mexico has been staying busy. Lety teaches the girls who come from the colonia (community) to sew. Our daughter, Sara, began this ministry in 2002. We built a small building for her to teach girls and ladies in the colonia how to sew.

She taught them to make their own patterns, sew on machines and by hand, along with other related skills. They also included a time together in the Bible and in prayer for the needs of the ladies, their families, and the colonia. Lety, who was one of Sara’s students, was very creative and enjoyed the sewing. After Sara had her own family and was no longer able to head up that ministry, she suggested hiring Lety. Lety has been running the Dorcas House ministry since 2009. She has remained faithful to teach young girls in the community God’s Word, pray with them, teach them to sew by hand and machine, and spend countless hours making simple crafts. We have loved this ministry opportunity for the girls in the colonia. Many girls with so much time on their hands after school will fall into bad situations with boys in the colonia, or even get involved with gangs. It is heartbreaking to watch this happen. What a blessing to help direct these girls to Jesus Christ.

We are grateful for each of you as you read and see the pictures of things the Lord has allowed us to be involved with this month. It is an honor and privilege to serve our Savior by serving and helping others. It gives us more to thank Him for when He uses us in any way. He is worthy of our love and praise. Thank you for your love and encouragement to us as we minister His love to others in Haiti and Mexico.

Serving our Savior with you,
Ken and Debbi