August

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Dear Friends in Christ,

This was another wonderful month of God’s protection and provision in Haiti. We praise Him for all He does for each of us as we serve Him. May we always lift up, admire, and adore the One who holds our lives together, Jesus Christ.

We now have pictures of the kindergarten and 6th-grade graduation services to share. This is a very big deal for the children in our area. Most of their parents did not have the opportunity these precious children have to learn to read, write, work math problems, but most importantly, be taught God’s Word from their Bibles. These students are learning to read so they can read their Bibles. This is a very important time for these children. For a child to go through 6th grade is also a big event. The parents are proud and very happy when their children accomplish these goals. We hope you enjoy seeing all these little faces, full of excitement and satisfaction for what they have completed. Please pray with us that we can continue to help these children who have finished the 6th grade.

Laissa shared with us that many, many people from Mirebalais have relocated to the area of our school. They, of course, are fleeing the gangs who have taken over their homes and businesses. Because of the difficulties around them, there are no other schools near us in operation. It truly is a miracle, and a gift from God that our school has been able to remain open and feed the children each day. God is good!

There are 5 student graduates from last year that we sponsored attending another school in Mirebalais. This year there are an additional 5 students who hope to continue their education as well. A few months ago, when the gangs destroyed the town of Mirebalais, their school closed and these students have not been in school since then. We are currently prayerfully considering helping these students with afternoon classes at our school. Once the children go into 7th grade, there are a lot more requirements including more classes that we currently can not offer. However, with no other schools open we want to help by offering what classes we can even if it isn’t the full 7th grade course. These students have missed the consistency of study and a steady meal each day.

With the school year now finished, Nady is trying to get an idea of who will be attending our 2025/26 school year. The new school year will start the beginning of October. With only 5 children graduating from the 6th grade, we do not have many openings for new students. We told Nady we can add 20 new students, which will bring this coming year’s total students up to 165. There are many families who were very hopeful their children could attend the OSM school. Our staff has informed us of how desperate families in the area are to have their little ones attending school. Many parents cried when their children were turned down from the school because of our limited capacity. So many families are hoping and praying to get their children into the school. It’s a heartbreaking situation for Nady to be in as he wants to help as many children as possible. Please pray for God’s direction for us.

Please continue to be in prayer for little Woodson. Twice now, we found a hospital to do his needed Hirschsprung disease surgery. Both hospitals closed just as we were making plans to get him to them. The latest was a hospital in Port-au-Prince. It would be a dangerous travel day for Woodson, but they could do the surgery he so badly needs. The gangs however, kidnapped 7 employees from this hospital, so the administration closed the hospital and will not reopen until hostages are released. Woodson seems to be in a little more discomfort, and we have no idea how much time we have to get this surgery done. Also, pray for the 7 hospital employees to be released soon! Thank you!

When this newsletter goes to the printer, we will be in the Dominican Republic. We would appreciate you joining in prayer for God’s leading over this trip. Our daughter Holly will be joining us, which we are very excited about. Having her with us is very helpful since she speaks both Spanish and Creole and will help interpret for us. The area we are going to is on the Haiti/Dominican border and there are many needy Haitian families who have fled there. We look forward to sharing about this trip with you in our next newsletter.

Though the school in Haiti (pictured below) is open in the summer, they will take a 2 week break in September for the teachers and staff. Hudson, the man who oversaw the building of the school, said that would be a great time to get a few repairs done, spray for termites (a big problem in Haiti) and repaint the whole school. With the time crunch we were under the beginning of this school year, we built with wood, thinking over time we would slowly replace the buildings with concrete blocks. The gangs changed those ideas and plans, so we really need to protect and maintain the wooden buildings. Hudson came up with an idea to send a man from Port-au-Prince, with the materials needed for this maintenance job, out to the school. He will take a long route to avoid some gang controlled areas and pay a “gang tax” to get through other areas on the roads. The cost for all this project will be $2,700. Please pray about helping with this cost if you can. Thank you very much!

Pastor Santos and his wife Fini continue to reach many people in the Nava, Mexico area. Their church is located right on a main road and many people come to them as they travel through. They minister to desperately needy people continuously. They are often in a hospital in the middle of the night, or trying to help families who have lost their teenagers to the local cartel gangs, or helping couples with marital problems. The colonia is full of desperately needy people who would do anything for money. The cartel know this and often prey on young men, luring them into joining them.

We again are so grateful for each of you, your love and prayers for our brothers, sisters, and coworkers in Haiti and Mexico. You have made it possible to have the school in Haiti, to help support Pastor Santos’ out-reach and Lety’s sewing school in Mexico, and to touch many lives in both areas. Because our awesome God reigns, we have hope when there appears to be none. He is working in hearts, even when we cannot see it. May His love, peace and protection be over you and your families as we minister together.

Serving our Savior with you,
Ken and Debbi