March

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.
Matthew 20:28

Dear Friends in Christ,

God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us –Selah. That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations. Ps 67: 1 & 2

We praise the Lord for His many blessings of care and protection for OSM’s team in Haiti this month. With all the violence and troubles on the roads, these faithful servants have delivered food and supplies, as well as cared for medi-cal needs. There is no doubt in our minds that the prayers of you and our wonderful prayer partners made a difference for those traveling in Haiti.

The beginning of the month Edgard and the team delivered food and supplies to repair a hole in the wall of the school. Edgard and Ern-est were able to teach Bible classes to the children. They had a very good meeting with the teachers and staff at the school. They used Col. 3:23 again to encour-age the teachers and the Lord has given them His favor. Not only were the teach-ers content with how things are going, the children were also happy and learning well. They asked for our continued prayers for the teachers and children and for God to give them courage and perseverance in the work of the minis-try. They know that Satan is out to divide and de-stroy any work that is pointing people to Jesus Christ. They fully under-stand that when things move in a successful or positive di-rection, it is the blessings of the Lord which makes this happen.

Our team’s second trip out began with some difficulties. They had problems communicating that morning and then left without some of the medicine they needed for the med clinic they were planning to do, so they had to go back. This delay put them on the road later than usual but we praise the Lord for his faithfulness in safe-ty as they traveled. Edgard’s sister-in-law, Pascale is a nurse and she has done medical trips to the school with us in the past. She and Edgard’s niece, Ketsia went to do a physical on all the children. Pascale checked teeth and eyes, she gave meds to treat parasites and performed an overall physical on each child. Taking bars of soap, they taught the children the proper way to wash their hands. Of course, the children enjoyed learning and doing this im-portant hygiene procedure. It’s amazing, things we take for granted are a big deal for peo-ple in Haiti. Edgard and Ernest went back over the previous Bible lesson and shared about the first miracle Jesus performed. Then Edgard went to visit people close by who had recently accepted Christ as their Savior. After this they took the opportunity to meet with the teachers and leaders to check how things were going for them and to talk about how they can better succeed in spreading the gospel to the school children together.

Their last trip out, the medi-cal group went again and did a clinic for Pouillé School. Pascale and Ketsia did eye exams and a quick physical assessment on 76 children. This school is in an area across the same river our teams go over to get to our school, but it’s in another location up the river. As the crow flies it’s about a mile from our school, but it takes hours to walk to it because of the mountains. Edgard and his team have now met a deacon and his wife as well as some of the teachers at that school. They were very happy for the medical team to come to their school to minister to the children. Edgard talked with them of some of their needs, and water is a huge problem for them. He told them he would try to bring an evangelism team back to share the gospel in their area with them. The church leaders were excited at that idea!

While in Florida this month, Debbi and I met Pastor Volner who helped start the Pouillé church years ago. He seemed glad for our interest in getting to know him and interest in the school. Please pray with us for the Lord’s guidance for future involve-ment with them. We do not want to go ahead or behind the Lord’s leading in ways we may be able to minister and as-sist these precious people. It is exciting to be involved in helping them with their school children and to further assist them in reaching more of their village with the gospel!

Pastor Santos has asked for you to keep him and his wife, Sister Fini, in your prayers. They have had some medical issues and have been going for tests to decide what’s hap-pening. He has had vertigo and has been trying to get it under control. He seems to be some better, but not fully over it yet. We are not clear what problems Fini is having, but we lift her in prayer and God knows her needs. Thank you for praying for these dear friends and servants of Christ!

We pray for your homes and families, for God’s provi-sion spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially over you. May we stay steady and diligent in sharing His love and gospel message with others wherever we are. Thank you for your support which allows us to minister through OSM as we do. We are grateful to partner with you in sharing the love of Christ in Haiti and Mexico!

Because He lives, The Kennedy Family