November

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.

Isaiah 12:4

Dear Friends in Christ,

We have so much to be thankful for in Christ Jesus! He alone is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving. It is with this grateful heart, turned to Him, that we share His goodness and mercy over us this month.
Each year, at the beginning of school, our students receive their new uniforms. As we have shared in the past, going to school in Haiti is a big deal. Especially for these children out in the middle of nowhere, many have never left this little area of their island. They have not seen how others live. So to have this opportunity, for most of them, is a very special part of their year. This is such a blessing for us, to be involved each day in helping to mold hearts and minds with the Word of God and the love of Jesus. The purpose of school for these precious ones is to share the gospel, which is more important than anything else they will ever hear. They learn to read, so they can read the precious Scriptures. Other things they learn, although important, are secondary to God’s Word. We praise the Lord for this opportunity to share these priceless truths with this young generation!

We always want each of you to feel a part of these wonderful gifts, which you our family of supporters help make happen every year! The beginning of each new school year is a time of excitement and celebration at the school. The girls love having their new dresses and new fitted pants and shirts for the boys. These uniforms take them through the whole year! Faces full of happiness, smiles and excitement are worth so much! These precious children can “feel” God’s love for them, reaching from each of you to them through each of these special gifts. How blessed we are to be a part of this with you. We thank you and praise God for His provision for these children!

School has started back up again, the children and teachers are settling back into the full routine of classes and a meal each day. We ask your prayers for us as we endeavor to give direction for Nady and the teachers from afar and in a different language and culture. At times, they do not easily embrace some of our ideas and thoughts, even our heart, which is understandable, but can be challenging. As is the case here in the US, many times they can lose sight of the goal of the school. We ask that you pray with us that the teachers and staff not get caught up in the mundane, everyday schedules, but rather keep the focus on sharing the gospel of Christ through every facet of the school. We ask for prayers as we continue to communicate this through phone which is much more challenging than in person. Our prayer is for healing to continue on the island of Haiti for the people there and so we can visit again in the future.

With this in mind, we are having Nady, our administrator, spend a weekend each month going to Port-au-Prince to receive discipleship from Pastor Bertho & Edgard. Nady seems excited at the idea of us helping him grow spiritually. There will be a lot for him to think about as he makes plans for this trip each month. Please pray for God’s protection over him and his family and that we can share with him more of our vision for Christ to be the heartbeat of the school. Nady has been a huge blessing to us and for the school and we are looking forward to seeing the continued work of Christ in his life.

It has been a while since we shared about Edgard. Safety issues have kept him from being able to travel to the school for a while. Yet he remains diligent in sharing the gospel with the people around him. This month he did some street ministry, praying with over 60 people and 19 prayed to receive Christ, praise the Lord! He gave out many Bibles with people he met as he shared the gospel. Edgard is grateful for your help with this calling on his life through supplying Bibles. Please keep him in your prayers. Stepping out into the streets of Haiti can be full of violence right now. Yet, this time of year, more people are open to hear about the birth of Christ, which is a great opportunity for Christians to witness of His love in our hearts and lives.
Our prayer team has been faithfully praying for our little student Woodson. We wish we had more news, as he is still waiting near the hospital for word of an operation. They have now decided that he has cancer in his kidney. We pray God heals it or it can be removed when the surgery takes place. As we well understand, waiting and not being sure what will happen next is very hard on him and his Mom. The hospital has been overwhelmed with needs and understaffed. With roadblocks, the gangs have caused many people to not be able to get good care, they have shot up hospitals, kidnapped doctors and nurses, and caused havoc throughout the country. It is truly a miracle that Woodson was even able to get into this hospital. We were grateful to hear Pastor Bertho’s daughter, Dr. Bertola, has finally been able to talk with Woodson’s doctor to assess the situation and give us more clarity. We have also heard Woodsons’s doctor has asked for them to line up people to donate blood for his surgery as is the common practice for surgeries in Haiti. Please continue to pray for God’s hands over Woodson, the surgeon, the surgery and ultimately healing for Woodson.

November is always a special month for our family. Each year just before Thanksgiving, we are blessed to go to the National Bible Bee Conference. This year it is in Sandusky, Ohio. Through local competitions, over 11,000 children participated in Bible Bee this year and now we have 360 contestants coming from all over the country for the national competition which began in 2009 in honor of our precious daughter Shelby who went to be with Jesus in 2005. We truly wish each of you could experience this with us. It is so encouraging to see and hear children and young adults (ages 7-18) declare the Word of God with enthusiasm and passion. They have worked hard, spending hours each day, sometimes nervous in front of many people, but more often, boldly proclaiming God’s truths from the Word. It is a few days of feeling like we are at the feet of Jesus, laying aside all of life’s difficulties and struggles, worshiping Him with our whole hearts, all eyes on Him! We would appreciate your prayers for this event as God is glorified through the spreading of His Word to the younger generation! We pray for travel safety over these families and health for each of these children and their families as they have worked so hard to be at this point and participate in this event. We will be sharing pictures of this with you in our December newsletter.

We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving in Tennessee with some of our family. Together, we have so much to praise God for in our lives! Having this special day each year to come together to thank the Lord for His provisions is a privilege we do not take for granted.

As we go through Thanksgiving and turn our attention to the celebration of the birth of our Savior, we pray the Lord’s love, peace, direction, healing, protection, and provision over each of you, your homes and families. As you walk closer with Him each year, may you and we see more clearly how deeply He loves and cherishes us, drawing our hearts to His. Hallelujah, what a Creator, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords!

Serving our Savior with you,
Ken and Debbi