Old Year Out - New Year In



Grand River flowing
through Elora

 Since our arrival home in Elora for Christmas it seems we have not stopped running, visiting, being visited, etc.  We have enjoyed every minute being with family and friends, but today we are thinking about how blessed we have been throughout this last year.


God has a plan, and while we may not always appreciate or understand the whys and hows of His plan we will know in the end that what happened to us this year was within that plan.

Pic from internet

This past year we were to travel to Cap Haitien, Haiti, for the month of February to host visiting teams at the OMS Vaudreuil compound, but this was not to be because of the change in needs following the disastrous earthquake in the Port-au-Prince area.  Another door was opened when we had the opportunity to travel to Haiti at the end of February as part of the Sudbury work team.  It was during this trip that we had a conversation with Matt & Stacey Ayars about when we were going to return to Haiti, and our answer was that we were waiting for the offer of a "job".  Then, again when we returned in early May with another work team from the Fergus area, we had another conversation with Matt & Stacey about the possibility of our returning to undertake a support role at the newly built site of the EBS (Emmaus Biblical Seminary).  Our answer was a "give us some more details". 

After prayer and reflection we decided that we should just place our trust in God and give an unequivocal yes.  However, this was not exactly the end of the story as the original "job" was re-evaluated, and we were asked to host visiting professors at the EBS instead.  Again we gave an unequivocal yes to this latest turn in events.  As we were quick to quote someone from 1695, in for a penny, in for a pound.

We have been going to Haiti over the course of the last 8 years.  The two months that we have spent in Haiti this past fall has been something that is so far removed from anything we have experienced, making sense of it is impossible.  Knowing how difficult the last year has been for Haitians in both the north and south of Haiti, the adjustments that were made within families to cope with the loss of family members and/or the sudden arrival of family members trying to escape the devastation in the Port-au-Prince area, together with the pressures surrounding the cholera epidemic followed quickly by Hurricane Tomas, and the turmoil of a national election has sometimes seemed insurmountable, but Haitians have, for the most part, been resilient if nothing else.  If all this was to happen to ourselves it is impossible to say if we would have been as patient and understanding as they have been.

We think the Haitian people we know are very special and very kind in the face of all the adversity that they have had to contend with in 2010.  We are praying that 2011 will bring them responsible government that has as its primary goal, both in the long and short term, the needs of the Haitian people. 

We are praying that 2011 will bring them a greater understanding of how God can be an agent for positive change in their lives.

And, we are praying that 2011 will bring them a greater awareness of how they themselves can be agents for positive change in their lives by living out their faith.

We look forward to our return to Haiti January 6th and the rewards and challenges that will come with hosting the visiting professors.  We ask that you pray, along with us, that we will continue to have good health enabling us to be a part of bringing the word of God to the people of Haiti.

Have a blessed New Year of 2011.
Dorothy & John